what is vascular dementia and is it permanent
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Q: what is vascular dementia and is it permanent
Answers (4)
1/27/10 12:05pm
Hi, Weinerdog,
C.J. has some excellent advice for you. I also consulted "The 36-Hour Day" by Nancy Mace and Peter Rabins. They write that vascuar demention affects functions such as memory, coordination and speech, but the symptoms will vary depending on which areas of the brain were damaged by the strokes. Also, vascual dementia tends to progress in a step pattern, in that you may identify that the loved one was worse after a specific time, but then he/she may not get decline for a period of time. In fact, some people with this type of dementia may not get worse for many years. Mace and Rabins note that some cases of this type of dementia may be stopped by preventing further strokes, while in some people, the progression cannot be stopped. Based on this information, you may want to check with the loved one's doctor about what you can do to prevent further strokes.
Take care and keep us posted!
Dorian
1/26/10 5:11pm
Hello. Vascular dementia used to be called multi-infarct dementia. It's caused by series of strokes. These strokes can be imperceptible to loved ones at first, but their progression can lead to forms of dementia that result in some behaviors similar to Alzheimer's. The strokes can lead to permanent changes in the brain. Treatments for stroke help patients and can slow the progress of the dementia. My father had multi-infarct dementia, probably for some time, but it was diagnosed so late in his experience of it that the medications were useless against it.
One of the experts on this site, Christine Kennard, has written a very helpful Sharepost about the different forms of dementia. It's located here.
http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/57548/77542/alzheimer-types
Best wishes to you.
1/29/10 7:05am
Hello again. I'm so sorry for your loss. It's so hard when our loved ones pass so suddenly, as evidently happened in your case. My father's last illness took place across three months. It's hard when it happens like that.
As for vascular dementia, I'm not a medical doctor. Perhaps, if your father developed an infection, this could have led to blot clots in his system, and perhaps the doctor assumed that these might have caused a stroke. And perhaps it was something else that took your father.
In my father's case, they finally did a brain scan. I was the one there attempting to comfort him while this was going on, and I was able to see the scan and listen to the technician's explanation. (The doctor was trying to assess which course of medication to use, I guess.) At any rate, no course of medication could have helped him, given what I learned and saw on the scan.
If you look through this site, using relevant search terms, it could be you can pull up further articles about vascular dementia that might help clarify some of the thing you have questions about. There's a search area at the top right side of the screen.
Again, I'm sorry for your loss of your father. Best wishes.
1/27/10 1:43pm
I think vascular dementia is different from Alzheimer's. Since the cause is mini-strokes, medications can help stop or slow down dementia of this type. e.g., my Mom had mini-strokes in 2008 so she is taking medications. The doc. told her not to get into more strokes now by not taking medications, or she would get dementia. However, it is a long-term situation and it is hard to really stop vascular dementia as mini-stroke sometimes is invisible unless you take ct-scan more often to follow up. If the situation is left untreated without medications, it will get worse and eventually at some point could be permanent. Some people also have to take aricept or drugs for memory given the dementia.
Regards,
Nina
1/29/10 7:55am
Hi,
All of these suggestions are right on target. I recently read more about vascular dementia and the more I read the more confusing it all is. Some researchers feel there is more crossover in dementias than first realized. There are some researchers who are looking at calcium buildups in the brain as a dementia factor. As you may have seen, even sleep apnea is being considered.
The research is all over the place, which is a good thing even though it's frustrating. When research becomes focused on just one area, if that research proves wrong, then everyone is back at square one.
Vascular dementia has, as the others pointed out, been considered a result of silent strokes in the brain. However, again I need to stress that there is so much that is unknown. An infection could explain your father's situation.
I've experienced fairly sudden deaths with loved ones, and it's very difficult. I've also watched my father, who was thrown into severe dementia literally overnight because of surgery, linger for ten years. It's just all very painful.
With my dad, I wanted answers. I never got them, though years down the road I now find research that points to the fact that it could have been the anesthetic that did this to him. I sense that you, too, want answers. It's very hard not to know. Keep watching current research and checking in with us for support. We do care.
Carol
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By weinerdog— Last Modified: 12/27/10, First Published: 01/26/10
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you know what?? this really shocks me because i was told my dad had vascular dementia and he has never ever had a stroke or mini stroke of any kind. i was told it was related to his infection that was systemic and very bad. he died 5 months after i was told this information. again, he has never ever had a stroke or anything resembeling a stroke.